Nymphadora Tonks: Protector of Hogwarts
by notjaneausten
Summary: It's dark days for the wizarding community and Tonks, as a newly qualified Auror, has been asked by Dumbledore himself to watch over the students at Hogwarts in these troubled times. Looking out for future Aurors, teaching Harry and the gang defensive spells and falling for the aloof but gentle Remus Lupin is just in a days work...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters remain the intellectual property of JKR, I am merely shuffling them around a little for my own amusement...**

**AN: **For the sake of this story I have made Tonks a little older than she is in the book series; this is set primarily during Harry's third year at Hogwarts although some events from future books will be brought forward.

'Settle down at the back, Finnigan…Goyle, I really don't think Mr. Filtch would appreciate finding yet another wad of your chewing gum stuck in the keyhole again…_Waddiwas!'_ A slight motion with his left hand sent the wad of gum flying out of Goyle's hand to neatly wrap itself neatly back into the foil wrapper. 'Come on, come on…there's room enough for everyone up here.' The slightly hoarse voice of the Professor matched his outward appearance, robes that were slightly tatty, a baggy jumper wearing thin at the elbows worn over a shirt and tie that hadn't been fashionable even when they had been new. The new Defence against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, leant slightly on his thin cane and waved one lean hand toward a large and very ornate wooden wardrobe wobbling slightly at the end of the room. Upon taking up his new post, Remus had looked over the lesson plans drawn up by the previous years' tutor and muttered a swift fire charm over the whole lot before stalking into Albus Dumbledore's office and informing him that if he wanted him to teach the kids something useful they would have to set aside their books and start using their wands for a change. So, here he was second day on the job and dragging the two houses out of their slightly cramped classroom and up to the barely used staff room on the third floor where their voices echoed in the rafters.

'Today we're going to be looking at Boggarts…as this is a practical exercise I need you to put your bags over near the far wall and get your wands at the ready.' The sounds of thirty excited sets of feet stomping noisily across the wooden floorboards made Remus wince a little, it had only been a few days since the last full moon and his heightened sense of hearing gained during the change hadn't quite dissipated as yet. The scent of cat urine mixed in with floor polish hit his nostrils and Remus knew that Filch was approaching the attic staircase long before the school's caretaker had reached the landing. 'Yes, Mr. Filch?'

'Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office, said to tell you it couldn't wait. Peeves here will fill in…' Fitch glared uneasily at the poltergeist, who blew the unkempt caretaker a loud raspberry as he floated into the attic room.

'Peeves…don't even think about opening that wardrobe or I'll tell Nick exactly where you hide every time he wants to join the Headless Hunt.' Remus whispered to the ghost softly and saw the Poltergeist's outline waver slightly as he listened to the quiet warning. Raising his voice, Remus called out to the students. 'Pay good attention to what Mr. Peeves has to say, you may find it very beneficial in your end of year exams!' Swivelling around with the aid of his cane, Remus limped over to where Filch hovered in the doorway. 'I'm sure Peeves will be fine on his own, Mr. Filtch.'

'Think I'll stick around and make sure he doesn't tell 'em anything Dumbledore wants to keep hidden.' Filtch muttered under his breath. 'Them passages are blocked for a reason and it would be just like that ruddy spectre to point the pesky kids in the right direction.'

'Very well then, I'll come straight back after seeing the Headmaster; if our time together runs over time please ensure the children head straight to their next lesson…Herbology I believe with Professor Sprout.'

'Yessir…' Filtch acknowledged the request with a brief nod and Remus made his way slowly along Gargoyle corridor to the tower where the Headmaster's office was located, wishing that Dumbledore hadn't made apparition banned within school grounds; at the rate he was moving these days, he'd be lucky to make it back before teatime let alone before the end of lessons.

Finally reaching the massive stone Gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the office, tapping his wand against the stone and announcing his name. The Gargoyle slid to the side, revealing the spiral staircase leading up to the main office. As he climbed, Remus remembered making the very same journey when he was a student at Hogwarts himself; Dumbledore insisting that he visit every time he returned from his monthly exile to change form. Giving a brief tap on the large wooden doors at the top of the stairs, Remus pushed the doors open and made his way into the Headmaster's inner sanctum where he saw Dumbledore talking quietly with someone sitting in one of the high backed chairs in front of his desk.

'Ah, Remus…' Dumbledore paused in his conversation and looked up as Remus drew near, waving his hand over to the spare chair. 'You're looking a little peaky, won't you have a little hot chocolate? I've taken the liberty of asking Madame Pomfrey to add a restorative potion to the brew.'

'Headmaster.' Remus gave Dumbledore a brief nod of thanks as he gathered his robes together in preparation to sit down.

'How remiss of me, I forgot to introduce you to my guest.' Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a little as he waved his hand over languidly to the occupant of the other chair. 'Remus Lupin meet Nymphadora Tonks.' Remus paused in a half seated position and then rose up again to offer his hand in greeting. His eyes widened slightly as he got his first glimpse of the girl, or possibly young woman sitting with her legs curled up in the chair. He swept his gaze over the delicate heart shaped face sporting a massive grin, and watched as the ends of her hair fluttered lightly in the breeze coming through the open window; the bright pink strands of her short spiky style looking oddly out of place when paired with the Auror badge pinned to the collar of her Ministerial robes.

'Miss Tonks has been sent to keep an eye on one of our students over the next couple of months; the Ministry is worried about the safety of the boy in the light of recent events.' Something in Dumbledore's tone had Remus dropping the Auror's hand to fall back into his chair, his hand tightening around his cane until his knuckles threatened to burst through the skin.

'Headmaster…' Remus could barely speak, his words catching in the back of his throat and Dumbledore gave a quick flick of his wand and the wooden doors slammed shut at the same time as the window fastened itself into the casing.

'Sirius is back…' Dumbledore said quietly and laced his fingers together as he glanced between the two people he had chosen to take into his confidence. 'He arrived at the school just last evening and Madame Pomfrey has been working on him all night; he's very undernourished and weak but she thinks he will make a full recovery.'

'I've already placed extra wards around the tunnels and reinforced those already in place around the Whomping Willow and Shrieking Shack.' The Auror confirmed and gave Remus a sideways glance. 'We're hoping to have found a more permanent hiding place before you are likely to be needed the Shack again.' Remus nodded slowly, struggling to take in the fact that one of his closest childhood friends was in fact just a few miles away from him after being cruelly imprisoned for something he did not do; even more amazing was the fact that the young Auror had practically told him to his face that she knew all about his monthly curse and Auror's were supposed to take in any Dark Creature that they came across!

'Remus…don't look so worried, Miss Tonks has no intention of turning you over to the committee for interrogation.' Dumbledore reassured Remus, whose face was growing paler with every passing minute and the Auror let out a small cry of dismay.

'Bugger it! I knew I should have kept my big mouth shut and let Dumbledore do all the talking!' She leapt up from her chair, tripping over her robes in the process and ended up with her face buried in Remus's lap. Her hair morphed into a scarlet halo which betrayed her embarrassment even though her facial features were perfectly composed. Dumbledore let out a quiet chuckle as he saw Tonks trying to remove her feet from where they had ripped through the hem of her robes and straight through Remus's.

'Fizzing Whizzbees!' Remus could hear Tonks muttering crossly to herself as she attempted to untangle herself from her torn clothing and he smiled faintly as he waved his wand slightly, murmuring a faint '_reparo' _incantation under his breath, restoring both of their robes to their natural state.

'Are you all right, Miss Tonks?' Remus asked quietly as he assisted the young Auror to her feet, she gave him a jerky nod of her head as she settled herself back into the second chair.

'Ta…always was a bit of a klutz; took me two attempts to pass the stealth exam at the Ministry…gets worse if I'm a little agitated.' Tonks turned her head to look directly at Remus and he could see that her hair had reverted back to the bright pink of earlier; he wondered whether her outward appearance was directly linked to her emotional state. 'I didn't mean to cause offence earlier…I mean, I am an Auror and all that, but I'm at a very junior level and don't actually report to the Ministry at the moment.' Remus looked very confused at her jumbled explanation and ran a finger over his thin moustache as he turned to Dumbledore.

'Albus, it was a very tiring change this month and my brain's not as sharp as it should be; could you maybe use a lot of small words so that I can understand what's going on please?

'I've resurrected the Order, Remus…it's time.' Dumbledore's quiet statement had Remus jerking in his seat and staring at the Headmaster in disbelief.

'How is that even possible, Albus? Most of the Order is either dead or stuck in St Mungo's…' Tonks didn't bat an eyelash at the informal way Remus addressed the Headmaster and now Head of the newly reformed Order of The Phoenix and Remus wondered just how much the elderly wizard had told the Auror before he had been called in…

'We have enough people to start with…Arabella Figg's been watching over Harry in Little Whinging for the whole of his life and Elphia Doge has practically been his shadow for the last three years. Then we have Emmeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle, Minerva of course and now we have Kingsley Shacklebolt and Miss Tonks from the Auror office as well as Arthur Weasley who has managed to retrieve a large number of reports from the Ministry on our behalf.' Dumbledore watched Remus settle down a little s he reeled off the names of those he had already persuaded to come back into the Order once again.

'What's our purpose?' Remus asked, plucking at a stray thread on the edge of his robe. 'I know our aim is to ultimately rid ourselves of Dark users but unless Voldemort attacks us outright we'll never know where to look.'

'Knowledge at the moment, Remus.' Dumbledore stated as he stared at the slightly rumpled looking professor. 'Our aim is to prepare ourselves the best we can for the war that I am sure is coming. I want to make sure that the children are protected at all times – we all know how important Potter is, but I want all of our students to be fully versed in every defensive charm, spell and incantation we can think of as well as being able to recognise the beginnings of a spell before it is even cast.'

'My job here is in three parts,' Tonks swivelled in her seat and leant forward slightly, completely focused on the subject matter and not a stray hair was blowing out of place. 'I was the last Auror taken into the training programme straight out of Hogwarts and not a single person has passed the initial testing stage in the last two years. I've been sent to Hogwarts to see if I can spot any potential Auror's among the students here and report back to the Ministry.'

'You said three parts, what are the others?' Remus questioned softly, and he saw Tonks exchange a quick glance with the Headmaster; whatever she saw in his face was enough to reassure her that it was safe to continue.

'Protect Harry Potter and make sure that he's strong enough to face whatever Voldemort throws at him.'

'Miss Tonks will sit in on your DADA classes for a few weeks to see what the boy knows already, after a few weeks she will 'offer' some extra classes to Harry and a few others whom you both think will benefit from learning something that they only teach in Auror training. As to the third part of our plan…' Dumbledore's voice trailed off as his fingernails tapped against his desk, Tonks saw the way the Headmaster looked at everywhere apart from Remus and knew he was trying to think of a delicate way to put the matter.

'Albus…whatever's on your mind you can just say it; we've known each other too long, I know there's something else.' Remus said wearily, running a hand over his gaunt looking face. 'It's something to do with the change, isn't it?'

'Indeed Remus, spot on as usual.' Dumbledore leant back against the cushions on his chair and turned his attention to the window behind his desk. He could just see the top of the small house where he and the other teachers created a safe haven for Remus to disappear to during his time at Hogwarts as a student so many years ago. 'It's been many years since you last took Wolfsbane on a regular basis and it is likely to be a few cycles before your system gets used to the potion. I know how hard your last transformation was on you…' Dumbledore held up his hand when Remus opened his mouth to challenge his words. 'It's no good denying it, Remus…I can see the tiredness in your eyes and the way your clothes hang tell me you've lost weight that you could ill afford to lose. Miss Tonks will take over your classes the day before your next transformation and the two days immediately following; you will use that time to take any restorative Madame Pomfrey cares to give and you will eat as much food as we can get the house elves to cook up for you.' When Dumbledore saw that Remus wasn't going to argue the claims he waved his hand toward the doors, releasing them from the silencing charm. 'I suggest the two of you head back to your second years before Peeves has them all performing the Jelly Brain jinx on each other.'

Remus and Tonks knew when they were being dismissed, so rose up from the visitors' chairs and made their way over to the exit.

'Miss Tonks, your bags have been delivered to your rooms; second floor professor's wing, you're in the suite next to Minervra. Good luck to the pair of you, I expect a progress report by half term.'

'Yes, Headmaster.' Tonks gave Dumbledore a nod, accompanied by a quick grin and walked out of the office with a swish of her robes. Remus just nodded his goodbye and followed his new assistant out into the corridor.

**Nice, helpful constructive critism is always welcomed; flaming reviews will be punished with a bag of vomit flavoured jelly beans whilst positive reviewers will receive a bag of Sherbert Lemons from Dumbledore himself...**


	2. Chapter 2

'So, what's this Harry like?' Tonks asked excitedly as they made their way back up to the third floor staff room, Remus glanced over his shoulder to see the Auror practically skipping along beside him.

'I don't really know, I only met him myself a few days ago on the train coming up. He seemed to pull himself around quite quickly after coming into contact with a few Dementors, a little chocolate and he was as good as new.'

'Bloody things give me the creep.' Tonks shuddered a little as she recalled her own experiences with the ghouls. 'I'd love to see the look on Fudge's face if he ever realised that the very thing he sent them here for managed to slip through ages ago.'

'It's been that long?' Remus asked with a faint smile, and Tonks grinned delightedly.

'Going on for three weeks now, it's just a shame I can't fill Mum in on the fact that the old dog's back…she would have loved to scratch his fur again.' Remus was impressed with the way that Tonks had managed to tell him everything he needed to know about his old school friend without revealing anything that would give her cousin's identity away. He paused for a moment outside of the staff room and glanced over at her.

'Ready?'

'Born ready.' Tonks straightened her robes and performed a quick concealment charm on her Auror badge, she didn't want any of the students or staff not in the Order to know her status until Dumbledore gave the all clear. Remus pushed open the doors and walked through.

'Peeves, thank you for covering for me; I hope they all behaved sensibly.'

'Indeed, professor…I was just giving them my observations on the differences between poltergeists and ghosts; something that your dear father was particularly expert in.'

'Yes, Dad mentioned that he spent a few summers quizzing all of the Hogwarts spirits in turn.' Remus acknowledged and something in his face told the ghost that it was a subject best saved for another time. Peeves floated over the heads of the students and disappeared through the walls with a cheery goodbye, Filch quickly following but exiting through the door.

'I hope you all paid attention, students; there may be a quiz at a future date.' Remus tapped his cane lightly on the floor and then used it to point at Tonks. 'This is Miss Tonks, she will be assisting me in some of the more practical demonstrations during your Defence against the Dark Arts lessons. Miss Tonks is on loan to us from the Ministry of Magic who are observing a number of Magical schools to see whether we are performing up to Ministerial Standards.' Tonks gave a cheerful wave to the students and then hopped up on one of the tables against the side wall to observe from a distance. 'Now, we don't have a lot of time left today so we'll have to save our lesson on Boggarts for another day. Let's go through some simple wand Q &amp; A's instead…Could someone tell me the difference between a transfiguration and a conjuration? And before anyone chimes in with a smart remark, yes, I do know that this is DADA rather than charms…' There were a few chuckles at his comment before the room fell silent again, Remus glanced over the sea of faces and saw a few hands being raised up, but less than he would have expected for third year students. 'Miss Grainger?'

'A Transfiguration spell is where an existing object is altered, whereas a conjuration is where the desired object is seemingly transfigured out of thin air.' Hermione recited the correct answer and Remus glanced over at Tonks who gave him a subtle nod as she pulled a notebook out of her robe pocket and scribbled a note to herself.

'Well done, Miss Grainger. Now, would anyone care to give me the names of a transfiguration or a conjuration? No wands, please…just the incantation.' Remus raised his eyebrow when again, only Hermione raised her hand. 'No one at all? What have you been learning over the past two years? I can think of at least two conjurations that are used in most basic defence classes…Think on your basic elements…No one? Miss Grainger, would you care to enlighten the rest of the class?'

'Vera Verto – a true transfiguration spell that changes animals into water goblets. Professor McGonagall taught us that one last year, I think it was lesson six or seven.' Hermione frowned over at the boy sitting at her side. 'Ron, don't you remember trying to change Scabbers but his tail refused to disappear?'

'Oh yeah…poor Scabbers, took ages for it to wear off.' Ron's lips turned down a little at the memory of failing the transfiguration class for the second year in a row. Harry suddenly sat up straighter and raised his hand.

'Ah, Mr Potter…something struck a chord perhaps?' Remus leant on his cane and smiled in encouragement. 'Come on, don't be shy…'

'Well sir, you mentioned something about basic elements. I did read somewhere that you can make a jet of water come out of your wand…powerful enough to knock someone off their feet. It had '_aqua' _in there somewhere but I can't remember the rest.'

'_Aqua Erecto_ – very well done, Mr Potter. Aqua Erecto is a charm that can expel a jet of clear water from your wand tip, used properly it can indeed be strong enough to knock your opponent clear off their feet; no doubt Professor Flitwick will be introducing you to the delights of that particular charm later in the year.' Remus glanced up at the clock on the far wall and waved his wand toward the door, where it opened with a creak. 'That's it for today, I'd like you to read up on Boggarts and the spells used to counter them in preparation for our next lesson on Wednesday; come back up here rather than our usual classroom. Right, off you go then!' The students filed out of the staff room, leaving Remus and Tonks alone. He sat down at one of the empty tables and Tonks hopped off her perch to take a seat next to him.

'What's next?'

'Free period until after lunch and then going over last year's OWL papers with the sixth years. Hopefully I can get them to turn things around before they have to sit their NEWTS at the end of the year.' Remus rose up from the table and steadied himself with his cane, before making his way over to the door. 'I thought I'd go through some of the student files from the last few years, see if there's anyone of particular interest that's shown an aptitude in the written tests as well as the practical examinations; it's no good being able to perform the incantation if you don't know the counter spells.'

'Good idea, I'll give you a hand.' Tonks leapt up from the table, making it wobble dangerously before it settled back down and Remus smiled faintly, rubbing a finger against his moustache to hide his enjoyment. 'Ooh, I wonder if any of my old papers are still floating around… Might want to practise my _incendio_ charms before you get an eyeful of how bad I really was back then.'

'I'm sure you couldn't have been that bad, otherwise you would never have been accepted into the programme in the first place.' Remus protested gallantly and Tonks nudged him lightly with her shoulder.

'You'd have thought that being a Metamorphmagus might have made things easier, but not so much. You see it's easy for me to transform my face into someone else's for a little while, or change the colour of my hair for a day or two. Transforming something else though, that's a whole different kettle of fish…took me nearly all seven years to get the basic concept in my head, I think Nervie must have heaved a sigh of relief when I passed my final exams.'

'Indeed I did, Miss Tonks.' Professor McGonagall's soft Scottish burr had Remus and Tonks whirling around in a flurry of robes as she suddenly appeared before them. 'I let myself have a wee tot of firewhisky as a reward when I got back to my quarters.' Minerva's prim expression rearranged itself into a broad smile as she pulled the young Auror into her arms and gave her a warm hug, which was returned so enthusiastically by her former student that it nearly knocked her pointed had clean off her head. 'It's good to see you again, Nymphadora…have you been keeping well? And your parents?'

'Nervie!' Tonks was genuinely pleased to see her old transformation professor, the two of them had grown very close during her time at Hogwarts, Minerva offering comfort and guidance for the young witch when dealing with her unusual abilities became a little overwhelming. Tonks had spent many a tearful afternoon being plied with tea and cakes in Minerva's sitting room despite the fact that Pomona Sprout was the Head of the Hufflepuff house and should have been the one offering comfort. Minerva had felt an instant kinship with Tonks the moment she had seen her entering the Great Hall as a first year, hair morphing one colour to the next as it showed her excitement and then getting stuck mid change when it was time to be sorted, betraying her nervousness.

'Oh Nervie, I've missed you; could have done with your tea and scones a time or two during my training days.' Tonks pulled back from the austere professor and Remus saw Minerva's mouth soften as the affection she felt for the younger woman shone through.

'As I gathered from the tone of some of your letters… Still, you're here now and we'll have plenty of time for tea and cakes again.' Minerva ran her finger along the spiky ends of Tonks's hair, 'I see you still favour that particularly vivid pink; what shade did Poppy call it again?'

'Pepto Pink…she said it was a Muggle medicine that cures stomach aches and that my hair was likely to cause one rather than cure it!' Tonks and Minerva shared a laugh and Remus couldn't remember if he had ever seen the haughty professor ever look so carefree.

'Ah, Tonks…I've missed our little chats. Let me inform the girls that you are here and we'll have a little get together in my sitting room after the evening meal…say nine o'clock?' Minerva glanced over at the large clock on the tower wall and clucked her tongue. 'Oh dear, the Headmaster will wonder where I've got to…barely a week into the school term and already he's thinking about something that won't take place until after the holidays…' Before Tonks could agree or refuse, Minerva had transfigured herself into her animagus form of a silver tabby cat, padding off lightly toward the Headmasters' tower.

'The girls?' Remus tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow in inquiry, 'why do I get the impression that Professor McGonagall wasn't talking about the students…' Tonks grinned back and shook her head.

'Merlin no! Near the middle of my sixth year a few of the other Professors would drop in on our little tea parties to snag a cake or treat from Honeydukes…I thought that it was just them calling in to see Nervie but I found out later that she had found out from Professor Sprout all the subjects that I was having a little trouble in and they sort of adopted me…Tea and sympathy turned into spontaneous tutoring sessions; Flitty came by and took me through non-verbal charms, Rolly showed me some wicked broom manoeuvres and even the Headmaster showed his face a time or two, but I think that was the lure of the chocolate muffins!' Tonks scraped the toe of her boot along the stone floor and looked up at Remus. 'You look a little stupefied there, prof…something bothering you?'

'Nervie, Flitty and Rolly? Next you'll be telling me that you had private lessons from Snape himself, what did you call him – Sevvie or Snapy?'

'No such luck, had to pass or fail potions all by myself…luckily Mum and Dad were fairly nifty with a cauldron so I popped home for some tips from them before my exams.' Tonks shook her head, 'you must be barmy if you think Snape would have offered to give up his precious time to tutor the likes of me…I can almost hear his snide remark now…'

'Yellow, Miss Tonks, did my instructions not clearly state that the Armadillo Bile is to be mixed until the liquid turns yellow and **not** dark green?' Remus's eyes widened as he stared at the young Auror.

'I hadn't realised that Metamorphmagus skills could replicate a voice that perfectly, well done, Miss Tonks!'

'They don't.' The Potion Master's snide voice was clearly coming from behind the pair and he smirked as he saw the surprise flitter across Remus's face. 'Your senses must be growing duller in your advancing age, Lupin; once upon a time you would have heard me approach long before I came in sight…or perhaps something else was distracting you hmm?' Snape glanced over at Tonks and gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement. 'Miss Tonks, I see that we have the delight of your company once again, did the Ministry finally come to its senses and realised that they had taken you on under false pretences?'

'Yeah, nice to see you too Snape.'

'No need to get so defensive, I've seen you in action a few times over the years and I'm glad to see that you've improved a little. Tell me, Miss Tonks...to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?' Snape curled his lips upward in a slight smile and tapped his toes on the stone floor. 'Ah, don't tell me, you're the one that Dumbledore requested Kingsley send over?' Snape's aghast expression made Remus grin to himself, a smile that he quickly hid behind his hand as he faked a slight cough. Remus might have known that Snape would have engineered himself a seat within the newly reformed Order, he always had tended to fawn over the Headmaster; much like the snake that was the Slytherin House mascot.

'That's right Snape…you get to see me every day for a whole year.' Tonks sent Snape a wicked grin and then hooked her hand around Remus's elbow. 'Anyway, we can't hang about here gossiping like a bunch of old crones…students won't teach themselves you know. See you at dinner, Snape and for Merlin's sake try to look alive for once!' Tonks hustled Remus down the corridor and waited until they had turned the corner, before she collapsed against the wall in a fit of giggles…

Dinner that evening was a cheerful affair, the students calling out to each other over their tables and the professors chatting away amongst themselves. Remus and Tonks were seated in between Dumbledore and Minerva, with Snape throwing dark glares toward the Auror every time she glanced up from her meal.

'Tonks, dear…do fill me in on why Severus is wishing he was allowed to use his wand in the Great Hall,' Minerva whispered over to Tonks during their dessert course. Tonks swallowed her mouthful of strawberry mousse and patted her face with her napkin.

'Don't worry about that, Nervie…I just told him that it might help if he were to look a little more alive tonight, rather than prancing around looking like the Grim Reaper.'

'Oh dear…well, I don't think it worked, Tonks…he looks rather death like at the moment with those glares he keeps aiming your way.' Minerva laughed quietly as Tonks gave Snape a quick wave, which only resulted in a dark scowl twisting his features as he rose from the table and bowed his head toward the Headmaster.

'Headmaster, if you will excuse me? I think I will retire early this evening…the excitement I fear, is too much for me.'

'Of course, Severus…' Dumbledore smiled warmly at the potions master. 'I feel as if I will need to retire early as well, I'm not as young as I used to be. Come, let me walk with you and we'll leave the youngsters to enjoy the rest of the evening.' Snape bristled at the veiled insult, he was decades younger than Dumbledore himself being only in his mid-thirties; surely the Headmaster wasn't indicating that he thought Snape was looking old?

'On second thoughts, maybe I should stay a little longer; escort my house up to their tower after the meal.'

'Nonsense Severus…the prefects are more than capable of ensuring that everyone gets to their correct chambers…why don't you join me for a spot of tea and we'll have a quiet evening in my study?' Dumbledore looked pointedly at Snape and he realised that it was more of a command, rather than a request.

'I'd be delighted, Headmaster.' Snape forced a smile to his face, and followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall. As soon as he had left, Rolanda Hooch leant around Filius Flitwick and winked at Minerva.

'Tea at your place?'

Sybil Trelawny, the Divination tutor, caught the wink and leant forward eagerly, her eyes glowing behind the thick lenses of her glasses. 'Ooh, I have missed our little tea parties!" Remus saw the quick glance exchanged between Poppy Pomfrey and Pomona Sprout and the way Pomona gave a quick nod before leaving the table. He leant forward to murmur across to Minerva.

'Why do I get the feeling that 'tea' isn't what will be in that pot this evening?'

'My dear Remus whatever gave you that idea?' Minerva sounded shocked but Remus caught the glint of concealed humour glinting in her green eyes. Remus knew he was correct when Filius jumped down from the stack of cushions piled on his chair and tapped his watch.

'Almost seven…just have time to pop over to Hogsmead and get the supplies in. Butterbeers and Bungbarrel Spiced Mead all round?' Filius received nods all round and he left table to head out into the night, closely followed by Rolanda who went along to make sure that the charms professor stuck to his word and kept away from the more potent liquor.

Minerva rose up from the head table and clapped her hands together sharply, raising her voice to be heard over the chatter. 'Students…Madame Pince wanted me to remind you that library hours are strictly between nine o'clock in the morning and eight o'clock at night, those of you that still haven't obtained your required reading lists will need to be quick as stocks are running low. Please remember that the staircases have a tendency to play silly tricks by moving around at their own whims so please do not be attempted to slide down the banisters, I am sure Madam Pomfrey has seen quite enough broken bones to last the whole year.' Minerva glanced over at the kindly looking matron who nodded in agreement. 'That will be all, lights out at nine thirty; no exceptions.' As Minerva sat back down, the students began filing out of the Great Hall, the lights dimming gradually so that the glow of the stars reflecting back from the enchanted ceiling shone brighter in their wake. Finally it was just the teaching staff that remained, with the house elves flitting about clearing the tables of the leftover food and transfiguring the table settings ready for the breakfast meal. Minerva caught the eye of Papsky, one of the kitchen elves and gave her a slight nod.

'Papsky gets special tray ready for Tonksie. I is glad Tonksie is back at Hogwarts for us likes to sees her make Flitsiwick tipsy…oh laughs we do when he makes feathers leaps.' Papsky could always be relied on to provide the most delicious of their afternoon tea trays and Minerva held up her hand before the little elf got too carried away.

'Nothing too elaborate please, Papsky; just a few nibbles, perhaps a sandwich or two.'

'I's gets it taken to professors sittings room straight away…leaves it to me!' Papsky darted away, mumbling under her breath as she headed for the kitchen and Minerva smiled at her fellow teachers.

'Charity, Bathesheba…will you be joining us this evening? What about you Aurora?' All three professors declined the invitation with a slight smile, choosing instead to retire to their rooms for the remainder of the evening. Septima Vector, the Arithmancy professor had already left to work on her lesson plans for the remainder of the term; but as she had never yet accepted an invitation to join in, Minerva knew it was no good sending someone up to ask her. Finally, she turned to Remus and raised her eyebrow.

'Remus, what do you say? Care to see what us stuffy professors get up to after hours?'

'Stuffy, Minerva?' Remus smiled faintly and rose up from the table, offering her his arm. 'Not a word I would have chosen to describe you at all.' Tonks grinned after them as she joined arms with her old housemistress Pomona Sprout and they followed Minerva back to her quarters, Poppy and Sybil trailing behind. It was fairly cramped in Minerva's sitting room once Filius and Rolanda got back from Hogsmeade; but no one seemed to mind in the slightest accepting a cool bottle of Butterbeer or a glass of Mead from the tray floating around the room. Remus sipped at his own drink as he perched on the stone window ledge, quietly observing the laughing group of professors. Rolanda and Minerva were involved in a rowdy debate over which Quidditch team were likely to reach the finals of the world cup that year while Sybil and Filius were seeing who could remain sober enough to summon another bottle of mead across from the sideboard. Poppy and Pomona were sipping their own drinks slowly, both wondering how much hangover cure they would be dishing out come breakfast time.

'Having a nice time, Prof?' Remus glanced over to see Tonks approaching him with another bottle of Butterbeer in her hand, she held it out invitingly and he smiled in refusal.

'I'd better not, two's my limit when I've got an early class of third year's to face in the morning.' Tonks set the unopened bottle back on the tray and it was immediately levitated away by a giggling Sybil who nearly toppled off her low stool as she flicked her wand dangerously high. Filius snagged the bottle out of mid air before it could side swipe Minerva and presented it gallantly to the divination teacher who started snorting with laughter.

'Uh-oh, I think Sybil's reached her limit.' Tonks saw Sybil starting to tilt sideways and then light snores began to drift over the small sitting room. 'Filius will see that she gets to her room alright.' Sure enough, the tiny professor summoned a stretcher and with a flick of his wand had Sybil draped over it as he levitated it towards the divination tower. He gave Minerva a bow and blew a kiss toward Tonks as he bid the room goodnight and saw Sybil safely to her room.

'I can't believe you knew all about this,' Remus stated as he waved his hand around the room, 'When you said tea and cakes, I thought you meant actual tea and cakes.'

'Oh I did…until I had left school that is. I've popped back on Ministry business every now and then and imagine my surprise when Nervie poured me a glass of firewhisky instead of the tea I was expecting…she said that none of them had socialised together very much before they started tutoring me, now it's become a regular thing.'

'Do your duck face, Dora…' Rolanda requested, slurring her words a little as she smiled engagingly. 'Pleeease?'

'Alright Rolly…just the one and then I'm heading off to bed.' Tonks closed her eyes and concentrated, visualising the effect that she wanted to achieve. Remus chuckled as he saw her mouth conform into a pale yellow duck bill and Tonks gave a little quacking nose before reverting back to her usual form. She rose up from the window ledge and then headed across the room to give Minerva a kiss goodnight, squeezing Rolanda on the shoulder as she passed them. Waving across the room, Tonks wished everyone a goodnight and then crossed the short hallway to disappear into her own room; hearing the party break up a short time afterwards.

Breakfast was a slightly sombre affair, both Rolanda and Sybil requiring double doses of Poppy's cure-all potion before they could even face the thought of food. Remus accepted a large plate of pancakes and smiled when even Minerva shot him an evil glare as she sipped delicately at her cup of strongly brewed tea.

'Morning all!' Tonks's cheerful and exuberant greeting sent muffled groans rising up from the head table as she entered the Great Hall and made her way up to take her place between Remus and Minerva.

'Why is it child, that you never suffer the after effects of one of Minerva's little gatherings?' Rolanda asked, pressing her hand over her throbbing head and covering her somewhat blood shot yellow eyes. Filius agreed with a bob of his head, and reached over with slightly shaking hands to pour himself another cup of tea, not wanting to risk any wand use until he was completely sober.

'Just got a good constitution I guess, plus the fact that I stuck to just the one bottle.' Tonks reached for the syrup, drowning her pancakes until they were practically swimming in the sweet liquid. 'Merlin, I'm starving this morning!' She started eating her way through her meal, and saw the faces of her friends grow paler one by one.

'I think I'll just go and see if Poppy has any more of that potion left over.' Minerva muttered as she excused herself from the table.

'I think I may have to join you.' Rolanda's face was nearly grey as she followed along in Minerva's footsteps and soon it was just Remus and Tonks left at the table until Dumbledore and Snape entered the Hall.

'Ah, pancakes; my favourite!' Dumbledore clapped his hands together in delight and glanced over at the empty seats, taking note of the many cups of tea but very little sign of food having been eaten. 'I take it that Poppy's working hard this morning?'

'It's utterly disgraceful, Headmaster; what if there had been an incident last night? A fat lot of good it would have done Hogwarts with three quarters of the Head of Houses completely drunk out of their minds.'

'Do calm down, Severus…a few doses of Poppy's potion and they will be perfectly well again. I'm sure it won't be a regular occurrence, isn't that right, Miss Tonks?' Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at Tonks who nodded in agreement.

'Yeah, it was just a one off thing; sort of a welcome back party…won't happen again, sir.'

'Exactly, so there you have it Severus.' Dumbledore turned his attention back to his breakfast, effectively ending the conversation although Snape still bristled at the idea of having drunk professors cavorting around the castle. 'Relax, Severus…all will be well.' The headmaster murmured under his breath, 'Let them have this moment, there may not be many more pleasant evenings as such in the future.' Snape looked at the elderly wizard and saw something in the other man's eyes that made him drop the subject, it was a distant look that struck a chord of foreboding in the potion master's very core…


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks later Remus was grading papers in his classroom when he heard the sound of laugher rising up from the grassy area of the training grounds. He left his parchments on the desk and peered out of the window, grinning when he saw Tonks striding in front of a group of third year students that she had picked as potential Auror's. He settled down on the window ledge to watch her give the first practical lesson, wondering why she had chosen to give the demonstration outside.

'Okay, today we're going to be practising some defensive moves…it's pretty advanced stuff so I need you all to try and concentrate.' Tonks gave a wave of her wand and soon there were large padded mats drifting out over the grass, coming to rest behind each student. She had selected a small group of mixed abilities; some chosen for their skills with a wand, others for their brilliant theory work; or in the case of Ron Weasley, she just wanted to see if his sense of humour was anything like the rest of his family.

'Why the padded mats?' One of the group asked, Tonks checked her notes and tried to put a name to the voice; it was a Ravenclaw girl by the name of Mandy Brocklehurst.

'You're going to need something to fall back on.' Tonks replied with a grin, and walked along the line of students giving them a number; either one or two. 'Right, all of those that I've given the number 'one' to, come over and join me. Everyone else, stay by your mats for a second.' Tonks gathered the first half of her group in a small circle and waved her wand around them, muttering an incantation under her breath. 'There, now they can't hear what we're talking about. Ready to knock them on their behinds?' Group number one consisted of Michael Corner, Ernie MacMillan, Theodore Nott, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. 'You're going to be using the _Aqua Erecto _charm to try and knock your opponents off their feet.' Tonks gave Theodore and Ernie a warning glance as she saw them preparing to withdraw their wands. 'Not until I give the word, do you understand?' The boys nodded and Tonks waved her wand again, removing the silencing shield that she had made around them. She moved across to her second group and gathered them around her, raising the same silencing shield as before. This group contained her most promising students; Harry Potter, Hermione Grainger, Mandy Brocklehurst, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Daphne Greengrass. 'That group is going to try and knock you onto the mats and I want you to try and deflect their spell…I want you to think of something that they wouldn't expect.'

'So not your normal expelliarmus then, Harry.' Hermione grinned over at her team mate and he playfully jostled her shoulder.

'Hermione's right Harry, if you get into the habit of using the same disarming spell every time, well…it's only going to make it easier for someone to use it against you; it's far better to have an arsenal of spells in your mind…What else have you got in mind?'

'I was thinking about some sort of camouflaging spell, if they can't see me they won't be able to aim, right?' Justin suggested and Tonks nodded.

'Good…why don't you try '_flumos_' – it produces a sort of cloud that you can use to shield yourself with. Anyone else?'

'I was going to try and freeze them with an immobulus charm.' Hermione said, tapping her finger thoughtfully against her chin. 'I think I can pull it off.'

'I'd like to blindfold them so that they can't see me, I'd have to be quick about it though.' This was suggested by Daphne and Tonks gave her an approving nod.

'Okay so we've got clouds, freezing, and blindfolds – what about you two?' Mandy just shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn't really care less either way and Tonks made a mental note to scratch her from future endeavours; an Auror was expected to be able to be able to think fast on their feet, something that Mandy didn't appear to be able to do.

'Alright Mandy, why don't you try your hand at Harry's disarming charm? Harry, what did you have in mind?'

'Well, I thought about a full body bind but that can take a while to reverse; what about a simple reversal spell?'

'Ooh, I like your style Harry…' Tonks gave him a wink and grinned widely. 'Nothing beats getting someone back at their own game. Are you ready?' When the second group lined themselves up in front of their mats, Tonks removed the shield and conjured up a whistle. 'Right! Group one take your places…and Go!' She blew her whistle and stood back to watch. As soon as Ron raised his wand and muttered his incantation, Harry immediately shouted out his reversal.

'_Protego!' _The blast of water seemed to halt in mid-stream and then reversed itself to soak Ron instead of its intended target. Ron was flung back by the spray and Tonks quickly cushioned his fall with another mat; hearing Harry's laughter at the sight of his friend trying to wring out his sopping robes.

'_Immobulus!' _Hermione had also successfully countered Neville's attempts at blasting her with water, her wand glowing at the tip as she sent the freezing charm across the grassy area, Neville's arm hovering mid-air before he had even fully voiced his incantation.

Mandy, Justin and Daphne were not so lucky; their opponents being a little quicker off the mark, Justin's cloud of concealment barely raised a puff of smoke with his poor execution and Daphne's blindfold did manage to hit Theodore's eyes but only after he had released the jet of water. Mandy's muttered attempts at the disarming spell was miserable to say the least and she was the first to hit the mat with a loud shriek.

'Alright, I think that's enough for today…' Tonks sent a quick reversal spell over to Neville whose hand fell to his waist as he realised that Hermione had got the better of him once again. 'Well done to those of you that either made a good incantation or defensive manoeuvre…Go and get yourself dried off and I'll see you back in class tomorrow.' Tonks cleared away the mats with a flick of her wand and smiled to herself as she heard the jokey comments being bartered back and forth between Harry and his friends.

'You should have seen your face when you hit the ground, Ron…it was a picture!' Harry nudged Hermione's shoulder and she smiled at Neville.

'Never mind, Neville…at least you didn't get wet this time.'

'Yeah, but why do you always have to freeze me? It feels horrible, I could hear everything going on around me but just couldn't move.' Neville shuddered and Ron gave him a weak smile.

'I think I'd rather be frozen than wet, I can feel my trousers shrinking already.'

Tonks glanced up at the tower and saw the shadowy outline of someone leaning against the window frame. She knew that it could only be Remus and didn't know whether to feel pleased or annoyed that he had watched over her lesson. The shadowy figure moved out of sight without acknowledging her in any way and Tonks sighed a little as she headed inside to give Remus her first report.

His head was bent over a desk heaped with parchments as Tonks entered the classroom and he looked up with an enquiring smile as she drew near.

'Ah, Miss Tonks; lessons over already?' Remus didn't acknowledge the fact that he had spent most of his afternoon watching her from the tower window and Tonks decided to keep the fact that she had noticed him watching to herself.

'Yes, they were a mixed bunch…bit disappointing really.'

'Oh?' Remus set aside his quill and laced his fingers together as he waited for Tonks to continue. She perched on the edge of one of the desks and started picking at her thumbnail.

'There were a couple that I thought showed real potential; good solutions and a real knack in the theory department…' Tonks let her voice trail off, unable to voice her disappointment.

'But no so good when it comes to the wand work…' Remus filled in the blanks and Tonks nodded unhappily.

'Mandy didn't even seem bothered that she couldn't come up with a simple defence, it makes me wonder if she's even been writing her own papers this term. Daphne and Justin came up with some sound ideas but just couldn't get their wand manoeuvre correct. Harry and Hermione did brilliantly, I might pair Ron and Neville up against each other next time around though; the two of them didn't stand a chance against Harry's rebound charm and Hermione's immobulus…'

'So, just the four of them from the third year then?' Remus pulled out a notebook from the pocket of his robes and crossed through the names already pencilled in. 'We've only got Fred and George from the fifth year, Ginny and Luna from the second…no one from the first as yet, and Oliver Wood from the seventh.'

'Scrap Oliver, he told me yesterday that he's accepted an offer from Puddlemere United…I think the same will go for Angelina Johnson as well; both are Quidditch mad and have no desire to join the ministry.' Tonks despaired at finding anyone else, pretty much all of Slytherin had been discounted because of the parental links to Lord Voldemort, apart from the two students from earlier that afternoon.

'Patience, Tonks.' Remus's quietly calming tones settled Tonks from her restless pacing. 'It's early days yet. We've another few weeks until half term, let's see how things develop over the next week or so before we give the Headmaster our views.'

'Alright, I guess you're right.' Tonks ran her hand through her tousled hair and then glanced over at the clock. 'It's nearly time for lunch, are you coming?'

'Not right now, I really must get these papers marked and sent to the Headmaster; I'm not very hungry at present, I'll get something a little later.' Remus gave Tonks a brief smile and she narrowed her eyes at him.

'You need to eat, Professor…It will help absorb the Wolfsbane properly.'

'I'll get something later, Tonks. Don't be such a worrywart.' Remus turned his attention back to his marking and heard Tonks let out a sigh, he deliberately kept his head lowered so that she wouldn't see the lines of tiredness around his eyes and mouth; the Wolfsbane potion that Dumbledore had asked Snape to produce took time to brew and the first batch was still weeks away from being ready. With his old school friend still hiding out in the Shrieking Shack it meant the Remus spending a few nights in the old dungeon with only Hagrid's dog, Fang guarding the entrance. Eventually Tonks left him alone with his thoughts, and Remus pushed away the test papers to lean his forehead on the desk. _Two more weeks,_ he thought to himself, _two more weeks and then it will be half term. Another week after that and the potion will be ready._ It had been years since he had last taken the potion; almost as long as since he left school, the ingredients were expensive and finding someone that was experienced enough to brew the potion and trust with his secret was harder as the years went on. Finally he had given up and let the transformation take him over, spending days in agony recovering from the effects.

A rustling from the doorway had Remus lifting his head to see Papsky entering with a dome covered tray.

'Asks me to brings lunch to you, she did…Papsky happy to help Tonskie, nice to us elves she is.' Papsky set the tray down on the desk and lifted the domed lid with a flourish, the scent of barely cooked meat made Remus's nostrils flare and his mouth water. An owl fluttered through the open window and dropped a note it was carrying onto the desk. Remus pulled a small treat out of the pocket of his jacket and the owl eagerly plucked it from his fingers. Remus unfolded the small note, and gave a chuckle when he read the few lines.

_Prof…I saw that steak was on the menu for this evening's meal and thought you might appreciate one that wasn't so well done. Make sure you eat every bite and if you are a good boy, there may be another one on your dinner plate this evening…BTW, I know that the Wolfsbane isn't quite ready for you yet, so have asked Dung whether he knows of a reputable supply; don't tell Snape as he would only go and tattle to Scrimgeour and I'd rather we keep this within the Order…_

_Tonks._


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Apologies for the slow updates, but real life has a tendency to suck the inspiration right out from under me sometimes! I'll update as and when I can, but apologies in advance if it isn't on a regular schedule...**

Dumbledore had called a meeting in his private suite for all professors that were part of the newly resurrected Order of the Phoenix; he had also included Poppy Pomfrey to give everyone an update on Sirius' health but had not invited Severus along this time. When Minerva questioned his decision, Dumbledore paused in his pacing and twisted one of his silver rings around on his finger; a sure sign of his internal struggle.

'Lord Voldemort's hold over his Death Eater's is growing stronger with every passing day; Severus has managed to resist the call to power for many years now but he has admitted that there are times that he struggles a little. In light of this, he has requested to be excused from all future Order meetings so that he doesn't place himself or any of us in danger should his defences weaken.'

'A brave decision.' Minerva nodded her approval, and Dumbledore settled himself in a large leather armchair in front of his fireplace, gazing quietly into the flickering flames for a few minutes gathering his thoughts together.

'I've received word from the Ministry that the little visit the Dementor's paid to the Hogwarts Express on the first day of term is to be repeated.' Dumbledore held up his hand as Minerva and Poppy started blustering out their objections. 'Ladies, please! I have no choice in the matter; Minister Fudge is adamant that Hogwarts be protected from all harm.' Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a little as he continued to speak, revealing his inner amusement. 'I have agreed that the Dementors are allowed to patrol the outskirts only…at no point are they to be allowed inside the school gates; the concession does mean that Hogsmeade village is to be under close scrutiny should Sirius Black attempt to seek refuge.' The Headmaster saw the uncomfortable glance exchanged between Remus and Tonks, before Remus leant forward in his chair, his hands clasped loosely between his knees.

'Albus, this means we have no choice but to find an alternative resting place for Sirius; when does the Ministry plan on moving the Dementor's inside?'

'Halloween week…I believe that a little hocus pocus may be in order on All Hallows Eve night.' Dumbledore smiled faintly, his eyes shining with the prospect of creating a little mischief all in the name of the Order.

'What did you have in mind, Albus?' Minerva's tone was a little wary, to trifle with Dementors, guards of the wizarding prison Azkaban was not something any normal wizard would even contemplate; but this was Albus Dumbledore a wizard in a class completely of his own.

'Well…perhaps an attempted break in by an escaped convict; we'd need to persuade the portraits and ghosts to play along, I was thinking the Fat Lady would be the perfect choice for a damsel in distress.'

'I take it the students would all be moved into the Great Hall?' Poppy questioned, her face lined with worry as she thought about the tender first years who had only been at Hogwarts for a few short weeks. Dumbledore leant over and pressed his hand over her tightly clenched fingers.

'Fear not, Poppy; all of the children will be safely tucked away in their sleeping bags while the Dementors are out searching the grounds. In the meantime, Tonks will be in charge of escorting our guest to his quarters; while the rest of us search the entire castle.'

'I suggest you have Severus keep to the third floor and above, and Miss Tonks uses the tunnel under the Gryffindor tower that connects to the one under the Whomping Willow.' Remus suggested quietly, and when Minerva was about to interrupt Remus sent her a faint smile. 'I know that we agreed it should never be opened again, but I think the situation speaks for itself, don't you?' Minerva settled back into her chair, her worries appeased for the moment.

'I will re-open the tunnel for one night only, Minerva. Trust me, no students will discover its existence.' Dumbledore laced his fingers together as he glanced over thoughtfully at the fire as if seeking inspiration from within the fiery depths. 'It will be far too dangerous for us to hide Sirius for very long, a few weeks at most.'

'Hmm, I've been thinking about that one, Albus.' Tonks leant forward in her chair, and it was only thanks to Remus's fast reflexes that saved her precariously placed tea cup from tipping its contents all over the Headmaster's lap. Remus levitated the cup out of the way with a quick twitch of his hand and Minerva's lip twitched when she saw the way that he placed the cup on the edge of his own chair instead of returning it to Tonks. 'I think that it's time that Hagrid introduced the students to the Hippogriff…' Tonks casually stretched out her left hand and picked up her tea cup, as if she already knew where Remus had placed it and took a small sip.

'Hippogriff? Oh, I don't think so dear…they're so easily offended, one wrong move and it could very well be the last thing the student does.' Poppy was outraged that Tonks would even suggest such a creature. Dumbledore held up his hand to stay her objections and turned his attention back to Tonks.

'Miss Tonks…perhaps you would care to explain your thoughts behind your statement?'

'They would be an ideal choice for getting Sirius out of Hogwarts; they're strong and more than capable of flying long distances. We could get Hagrid to introduce a few in his Care of Magical Creature lessons, that way Fudge won't be able to suspect their sudden appearance as they are part of the curriculum.' Tonks finished her tea and set her cup back in the saucer, blindly reaching over to place it on the small side table beside her, only for Remus to reach over and nudge it into position as it started to tilt over the side; once again Tonks was completely oblivious to the fact that he had come to her rescue just in the nick of time. Minerva nudged Poppy's shoulder and the two shared a secretive smile, as the Professor and young auror seemed unaware of just how much their actions revealed about themselves.

'I will make arrangements to source a few Hippogriffs after the school holidays.' Dumbledore rose up from his chair, giving a silent indication that the meeting had drawn to a close. As the others followed suit, he quietly called out. 'Remus, Miss Tonks…I would appreciate it if the two of you would stay behind a few moments; I'd like an update on how things are developing in other areas.' Minerva gave Tonks a brief smile and whispered that she would see her at dinner that evening, before she accompanied Poppy from the sitting room. Remus sat back down on Minerva's abandoned seat on the overstuffed couch and Tonks chose to sit next to him rather than returning to her abandoned chair.

'There's a few students that I think show real potential…' Tonks began, but Dumbledore interrupted her before she could give the names.

'I'd like the two of you to introduce a few students to the Patronus Charm…I'm worried that Fudge will take this opportunity to have his Dementors breaching the school gates; I want Harry to be able to protect himself if necessary.'

'Do you think he will be able to do it, Albus? – it's far more advanced than anything any of them have worked on before, it's well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level.' Remus ran his finger along his thin moustache and frowned a little at the thought of the thirteen year old burning himself out if he couldn't produce the charm.

'I have every faith in the boy, Remus…I'll leave it up to the two of you to decide who else you take into your confidence….Remus, don't leave it too long.' The worry lacing the Headmaster's tone told Remus that there was something else bothering him.

'Albus…'

'Don't ask me, Remus…I will reveal all in the fullness of time, but not yet.' Dumbledore sounded more tired than Remus had ever heard before, and the younger man hesitated slightly before Tonks pulled slightly on the sleeve of his robe.

'Remus, don't push him…'

'Very well…I'm a little tired myself, please accept my apologies if I don't make it to the Great Hall for dinner this evening; I think I'll have something in my room and turn in early.' Remus's face was a little pale and it made the faint scars stand out where they lined his narrow face. Tonks made a mental note to order fresh steaks for the full week before his next transformation, it was clear that just a few days of extra protein wasn't enough to sustain him.

'Of course, Remus…I will ask Severus for an update on the potion a little later.'

'No need, Albus; he assures me that this should be the last moon before it's fully brewed. Hopefully by Christmas, I will be just a fluffy wolf curled up on a rug during the change.' Remus summoned a weak smile and Dumbledore rose up to rest a hand laden with silver rings on the younger man's sleeve.

'Get some rest, Remus; you will be needing all of your wits about you trying to teach those scamps how to control their wands once half term is over. I'm sure Miss Tonks can cover your lessons for the next few days should you wish to take the time to prepare for your transformation.'

'Thank you, Albus; but I think I'll leave that until after the change, something tells me that this one is not going to be easy. I may need a few days of Poppy's potions before I'm back on my feet.'

'Anything you need, Remus.' Dumbledore lightly squeezed Remus's arm, feeling the leanness under his fingertips. 'The students will be leaving in just a few days, so perhaps a few lighter lessons in the classroom wouldn't go amiss.' With those last few words of advice, Dumbledore dropped his hold on Remus's sleeve and crossed over the sitting room to disappear into his private study. Tonks glanced around the empty sitting room and then looked over at Remus.

'I take it that was his version of goodbye?' Remus let out a hoarse chuckle and gathered his robes around his lean frame, gesturing over to the large wooden doors at the end of the sitting room.

'You get used to it after a while, sometimes Albus just trails off mid-sentence and gets up to leave the room…I don't think he will be returning this evening.' Remus walked slowly over to the doors, and held one of them open for Tonks to step through before him. 'I will see you in class tomorrow, good evening Miss Tonks.' Remus bowed his head politely, and made his way slowly along the corridor intent on reaching his own chambers before his waning strength gave out on him. Tonks watched him for a few moments, before hurrying along the corridor to catch him up; surprising Remus by slipping her arm along his back under his robes to offer her support.

'Don't look at me like that, Prof…You'd do the same for me if I were in your situation.'

'I wasn't about to say anything, Miss Tonks. I appreciate the assistance, I fear that I will be in need of one of Poppy's ghastly Pepper-up potions in order to make it through the next couple of days.' Remus's face twisted at the thought of the taste of the potion as he tried to make light of the matter, but Tonks could see the pain he was trying to hide with his light-hearted comment.

'How much does it really hurt, Prof…when you transform?'

'Like nothing you can imagine, Miss Tonks.' Remus replied quietly, so quietly that Tonks struggled to make out his breathy words. 'I can feel every bone and muscle rearranging themselves and if I pass out from the pain, then I consider myself lucky.'

'And when you take the potion? Does it lessen the pain?' Tonks nudged Remus's office door open with her foot and Remus pointed one lean finger at a door at the far end of the room.

'The Wolfsbane potion is one to make the transformation easier on others rather than myself.' Remus explained with a wry expression, thanking Tonks with a faint smile as she helped him into one of the twin armchairs flanking his large fireplace. A quick flick of her wrist had the flames burning brightly and within moments a pot of tea was warming on the hearth. 'Whilst it is true that the potion lessens the effects of the moon and I am merely a member of the wolf family rather than a blood thirsty savage…the pain of the transformation is still there regardless of which animal takes form.' Remus accepted the cup of tea offered by Tonks, and took a hesitant sip. 'Hmm…Earl Grey, my favourite blend.' Tonks merely smiled as she settled back in her matching chair with her own cup, sweetened with half a sugar and a dash of milk.

'Tell me a story, Professor.' Tonks requested as they sat quietly by the flickering fire. 'Talking will keep your mind off the pain, it's something that Alastor preached during our initial training at the academy. Pick a subject or just ramble on about anything…I know, tell me the story of how your parents met; was it at Hogwarts or afterwards?'

'Hogwarts?' Remus chuckled and shook his head, reaching out to pour himself another cup of tea. Tonks nudged his hand out of the way and grasped the handle of the teapot herself. Remus smiled his thanks and gestured over to where a round, battered tin was sitting on the hearth. 'Help yourself to a biscuit if you wish, I believe Minerva stocked it with shortbread and pumpkin cookies this week.'

'Biscuits, professor? That's what you consider to be a proper meal?' Tonks clucked her tongue and reached around Remus to tug on the bell rope hanging by the side of the fireplace, within moments one of the house elfs apparated in the room and Tonks grinned when she saw it was her favourite elf, Papsky. 'Wotcher, Papsky.'

'Misses Tonksie! Glads to see you, is Papsky!' The female elf quivered with excitement at seeing Tonks again and didn't seem at all perturbed that it had been Tonks summoning one of the elves rather than the professor himself.

'What can you grab us from the kitchen that's nice and easy, Paps?'

'If the Miss and Professor wants, Papsky can brings everything they is having in Great Hall…beef stew with dumplings, treacle pudding and custard and pumpkin pasties.' Tonks glanced over to Remus who shook his head.

'I don't think I could stomach something that heavy; perhaps a light broth?'

'Don't listen to him, Paps; could we have a tray of mixed sandwiches and perhaps a couple of bowls of mousse if you have any?'

'Quick as old Peeves, Papsky will be coming back.' The elf apparated again and Remus sighed heavily.

'I do wish you'd have left it at a bowl of broth, Miss Tonks; I'm really not feeling up to eating solid foods at the moment.'

'Have the mousse then and I'll eat my way through the sarnies, Dad always did say I had hollow legs; I'm always hungry.'

'Then perhaps you should join the others in the Great Hall for the evening meal, I'm sure Albus will be wondering where you are.' Remus's slightly chiding tone had Tonks narrowing her eyes at him, and the ends of her hair flashed a brighter hue before settling back down.

'Settle down, Prof…I'm sure Paps will be happy to pass on my regrets to Albus.' Tonks smiled widely as Papsky returned with a large platter heaped with tiny triangles of crustless sandwiches, bite sized pork pies and sausage rolls. A second elf apparated in with a tray of desserts, individual portions of strawberry mousse, tiny chocolate cakes and bowls of fruit salad with piped cream drizzled over the top. 'Ooh Papsky this looks scrumptious! You've outdone yourself this time?'

'Tonskie is pleased with Papsky?' The little elf tilted her head to the side, her tea towel skirt twisting in her nervous hands as she awaited the verdict.

'I'm always pleased with you, Papsky; you've never let me down. Could you please pass on a message to the Headmaster for me, and let him know that I've decided to dine with Professor Lupin this evening?'

'Anything for Miss Tonskie.' Papsky bowed her head and with a glance at the other elf, apparated out of the room. Tonks leant forward and selected a triangle of sandwich from the tray and bit into it.

'Yummy…smoked salmon paté.' She munched happily on the sandwich, and selected a second; gesturing for Remus to continue. 'You laughed when you said Hogwarts earlier, what did you mean?'

'Hmm?' Remus looked up from where he had leant forward to examine the platter of sandwiches. 'I guess one or two couldn't hurt.' He murmured to himself, selecting a few different sandwiches and placing them on a small side plate. After taking a bite, Remus glanced up to see Tonks waiting patiently for his answer. 'Oh, my mother didn't go to Hogwarts; I'm a half blood, mum was a Muggle and Dad a wizard.'

'Really? I would never have guessed it; you're pretty powerful for someone with diluted bloodlines.' Tonks shoved another sandwich in her mouth, feeling pretty certain that her face was flushed with embarrassment; she'd either paid him a high compliment or insulted him terribly.

'Thank you, I had to work hard to get where I am today…not very easy when you're a werewolf and your Dad's expertise is in Non-Human Spirituous Apparations.' Remus bit into his second sandwich and hummed in approval. 'Mmm…foise gras.'

'Ooh lovely…' Tonks leant forward to rummage through the platter and Remus pointed to where she could find the foise gras filled sandwiches. 'So, your Dad was a ghost hunter? How'd he meet with your Mum?'

'Dad was on an investigative trip in the middle of Wales, trying to track down a particularly nasty Boggart when he heard someone screaming in the middle of the woods. He followed the sound and saw the Boggart transforming into a tall, dirty looking tramp which was looming over a very pretty young lady – who turned out to be a Muggle that had simply taken the wrong turn off the nature trail. Dad got out his wand and the Boggart turned tail and returned into a field mushroom.'

'What did your Dad say to your Mum? How did he explain away his actions, ooh I hope he didn't Obliviate her?'

'_Don't worry, it's only a Boggart._' Remus deadpanned and Tonks nearly choked on her sandwich. 'He did what any properly raised wizard would do; agreed that it was a very scary man following her and the only safe thing for him to do was to walk her home….five months later they were married and a year after that I came along.'

'I bet she was surprised to find out all about your Dad…' Tonks mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich, and Remus chuckled lightly.

'Amazingly no, Dad thought that she'd call off the wedding when she found out about what his job really was…but as their wedding cake had a Boggart as the topper I guess that she was okay with it all.' Remus leant forward to take another sandwich, only to frown when he discovered that they had actually eaten their way through the whole platter. Tonks gently nudged the dessert tray forward and Remus picked up a portion of strawberry mousse instead. 'What about your family, Miss Tonks?'

'Do you think you could just call me Tonks, prof? Miss Tonks makes me feel more like a student than ever; and it's been more than a few years since I graduated from Hogwarts.'

'Just Tonks? I thought your first name was Nymphadora?' Remus scrunched his nose up at addressing the young witch by her surname alone; it seemed like such a Ministerial thing to do.

'Urgh…Only my Mum and Dumbledore call me that; I can't think whatever possessed Mum to choose such an awful first name. My mates at school used to call me Nymph but that made me sound like a delicate little girl, so I put a stop to that. Dad calls me Dora, so I suppose you could call me that if you want…anything apart from blasted Nymphadora.'

'Very well, Dora…only if you stop calling me Prof or Professor; my name is Remus.'

'Alright, Remus. So, you probably know that Mum is related to the Black's?' Tonks raised her eyebrow and Remus nodded. 'Well, they weren't too happy with the fact that she picked Dad over some ugly twit that had been selected to carry on the family line. Dad's parents were Muggles and when he and Mum got married; her whole family blasted her off the family tree.'

'Ah well, it seems that not everyone can have a happy family like the Weasley's.'

'Yeah…hey, did you know that they were related to the Black's as well?'

'It doesn't surprise me, Dora. There are very few pure blood families out there, so it stands to reason that most can follow their roots back to the ancestor if they look hard enough.' Remus gestured toward the tea pot. 'Another cup?'

'Better not, Remus…It's half ten already and we've got the third years first thing.' Tonks refused with a grin and Remus was astonished to see how late it had gotten.

'I'm terribly sorry, Dora. I hadn't realised that I had kept you in here for so long, you must beg the forgiveness of a weary old man.'

'Don't be daft, Remus…You can be more than thirty eight or so, plenty of life in the old dog yet.' Tonks rose up from the chair and before Remus could blink had dashed over to press a kiss against his scarred cheek, resting her hand on his shoulder as he attempted to rise up to see her out. 'No need to get up, Remus…I can see myself back to my chambers. Get a good night's sleep, and I'll see you at breakfast. Good night.'

'Yes, good night Dora.' Remus remained in the chair long after Tonks had left his rooms, his hand reaching up to caress the cheek where her lips had briefly rested. 'Remus Lupin, you are a foolish old man if you think that was anything more than a friend wishing you well. Get to bed, you old fool before you start reading any more into it than you already have.' Remus sighed heavily as he rose from the armchair, dousing the flames in the fireplace and making his way wearily into his bedroom, trying to forget the feel of her soft lips pressing against his skin.


End file.
